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Post by gcsaylor on Mar 4, 2016 16:05:31 GMT -8
Help me out here folks, is one brand better than others? Are there products to absolutely avoid? How much fresh vs dried are you guys packing? I want to take some camera gear so cutting weight somewhere is a priority. Give me some thoughts.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Mar 4, 2016 16:31:03 GMT -8
On multi-week routes all freeze dried and largely mountain house for dinners, Quaker oatmeal for breakfast with various bars and gorp (though in my case that's smokehouse almonds, cashews and m&ms) for the middle of the day.
Weekend routes it's Chinese takeout, various fresh things plus simmrrable stuff like real pasta etc. but even then I don't go to be a chef: it's fuel.
Critical thing is you need the energy for safety so its gotta be food you WILL eat.
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markskor
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Post by markskor on Mar 4, 2016 17:41:42 GMT -8
Freezer Bag Meals? - At first taste, most FBMs are pretty good. Beef Strog, Chili, Sweet and Sour Pork, Chicken Anything, etc - all seems so easy. (Oh, not the lasagna... will go right through you!) Then, much like Power Bars, you get tired as all seem to taste the same - sawdust/ just cannot bear to swallow them anymore on a daily basis. Better options are available. Additionally, they are loaded with salt and...give you horrendous farts. I guess it all depends on how many times you have eaten them over the years.
Today, on a typical 10 day adventure...maybe carry 3 nights of these FBMs ...(Flatulence & Bowel Movers)...BTW, recommend solo tents only. The FB desserts - just add water/no cooking - (cobblers, creme brulee, etc) still do make great breakfasts - lots of calories there...YMMV.
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Mar 4, 2016 17:53:57 GMT -8
If you want to go the commercial route, my favorite is PackitGourmet meals. They are not traditional freeze dried meals - but easy to do. And you won't get sick of them - and also, unlike most freeze dried meals, they are not a pile of thick liquid with some food in the center......
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2016 19:19:40 GMT -8
Another example.
For breakfast I put 1.5 servings of Costco Granola and 1 cup worth of milk powder in a 1 quart freezer bag.
For up to 5 days lunch. 5 bagels and 5 SPAM singles. The variety comes from the bagels and I like to put mustard on my bagels.
For more then 5 days lunch I use Probars and spam.
For dinner.
The first 3 days, I would put 1 or 1.5 servings of rice in a gallon freezer bag. Bring along 1 Tasty Bite product and either a pouch SPAM or pouch Chicken. Water into the freezer bag with rice, cut SPAM into the freezer bag, package of Tasty Bite into freezer bag.
For the rest of the days I user a dehydrated product. I repack the dehydrated product into a gallon freezer bag. The freezer bag weighs less then the dehydrated product package.
Alternate to granola for breakfast. I repackage Backpackers Pantry Creme Brulee, or Dark Chocolate Cheese Cake, or Mocha Mouse Pie. Each package reads 2 servings but I just eat the whole package. I repack the Backpackers Pantry products to freezer bags.
I purchase my dehydrated products through Amazon. I buy the #10 cans. A #10 can is good for a year after opening. I repackage the #10 cans into freezer bags and store in the freezer. I put 1.5 servings per person from the #10 can into the freezer bag.
This does not include snacks or on trail munchies.
The books: Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple by Sarah Svien Kirkconnell Freezer Bag Cooking: Adventure Ready Recipes by Sarah Kirkconnell, Trail Cooking: Trail Food Made Gourmet by Sarah Kirkconnell Trail Eats by Sarah Kirkconnell Can be had on Amazon and are chock full of ideas
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Westy
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Post by Westy on Mar 4, 2016 19:56:29 GMT -8
is one brand better than others? Are there products to absolutely avoid? How much fresh vs dried are you guys packing? Our preference for Breakfast and Dinner is dehydrated food. Our culinary goal is variety, variety, variety in a no cook, just boil water dining process. We maintain a stocking backcountry food inventory with re-order points. Our breakfast inventory consists of 9 SKU's split 55/45 between AlpineAire and Mountain House. The same ratio is also reflected in hot vs. cold meals. * Skip the AlpineAire Blueberry Honey Granola in favor of Mountain House Granola with Milk and Blueberries. Lunch includes a wide variety of items available at your local grocery store. We do not prepare hot food for lunch. Nuts, raisins, dried fruits, peanut butter - a quick note on chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Field's tastes the best compared to Famous Amos but Famous Amos seems more durable and crumble resistant in the pack. Our dehydrated dinner menu is comprised of 31 dinner SKU's - 13 Mountain House, 17 AlpineAire and 1 Mary Jane Farms (Shepherds Meat Pie - REI only). This excludes (6) MRE Dinner entrees (not dehydrated but pre-cooked). The dinner meal is a major backpacking daily event, variety is mentally refreshing. Mountain House and AlpineAire have the most extensive product lines along with Backpacker's Pantry. Backpacker's Pantry has always been a culinary disappointment and avoided for breakfast and dinner entree's. Backpacker's Pantry is #1 for desserts though. The big three have the longest shelf life, availability and you can shop prices. Avoid - Backpacker's Pantry Thai Style Coconut Curry with Beef
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Mar 5, 2016 7:29:34 GMT -8
I'd also add to avoid ANY freeze dried meal that promises "sweet and sour" flavor. All I can say is the aroma reminds one of cleaning liquids being spritzed......... I don't usually self link, but this link is a great example of what commercial freeze dried meals look like compared to a home cooked and dehydrated meal: www.trailcooking.com/dehydrating-101/diy-meal-vs-commercial-freeze-dried-meal/ It really shows the difference!
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Post by tipiwalter on Mar 5, 2016 8:23:48 GMT -8
I used to do the Pasta Sides meals (used to be Liptons), then went with Hawk Vittles, then a terrible adventure with MRE's (way toooooooo salty), then a useless foray with Mt House, then some heavy Tasty Bites, then a long exploration with Mary Jane's Farm. As Markskor says, you will get deathly bored with all these things if you're out long enough. And have an empty wallet as these meals are expensive. My solution? Go Sarbar's route and dry your meals at home. On my very last trip I fotoged my dehydrator in action preparing for the trip--- Vegetarian chili in a can from Amy's. Dehydrates nice and no bpa's in can lining. Oven baked butternut squash mashed with fork on silicone sheets, dried and ready for packaging. Excellent in the field when added to soups and chilis. Sweet potatoes can be done the same. Here's another favorite and MUCH better than store bought dehyd rice: Cook up a big pot of organic brown rice until perfectly soft and edible. Spread on trays. Dry and ziplock. Add to soups and chilis in the field and allow about 60 minutes in the pot cozy for the rice to get very soft.
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markskor
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Post by markskor on Mar 5, 2016 8:47:20 GMT -8
Just to add...a couple of fat trout always improves the evening meal too. Make your FBM a side dish? As usually higher up (no fires) - we use/ cook trout in foil packages (15" squares) with spices, a little olive oil (important) - maybe trout stuffed with pepperoni slices or??? A Remote Canister stove and lightweight frypan are also required. Make sure to pack out the used foil.
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Westy
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Post by Westy on Mar 5, 2016 11:17:09 GMT -8
ANY freeze dried meal that promises "sweet and sour" flavor. I'll take that advice! Sweet & Sour get ready to be devoured and not replaced.
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Post by tipiwalter on Mar 5, 2016 14:21:25 GMT -8
Anybody try to dry fish at home and eat as trail jerky?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2016 14:36:58 GMT -8
Anybody try to dry fish at home and eat as trail jerky? My wife and I like to munch on dried cuttle fish. A good tasting, to us, long lasting flavorful on trail snack. Note, the coyotes are very attracted to the smell. We bought some smoked salmon that we ate on our Washington coast hike. The salmon was smoked by some locals in La Push. The salmon had some good staying power in the way of fuel for a mid morning or mid afternoon snack. Buffalo Bob's Wild Game Jerky is another favorite of ours on backpacking trips. The sampler packs offer a variety that fits well with backpacking.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 5, 2016 16:20:50 GMT -8
I have done a little picking and choosing through the freeze-dried meal, mostly for my boys. So far, they have found MH lasagne acceptable, and a couple of brands of scrambled eggs, and that's about all they've been willing to try. I find the eggs okay, but a little too artificial tasting (even through they are real), and the lasagne decent, but not something I'd want to eat often.
On the other hand, I have made some freezer bag meals, from Sarbar's recipes and my own, that I'd be happy to eat anywhere. And I know what's in them. I think it is completely worth the effort to make your own, at least as needed to flesh out maybe a few freeze-dried or convenience meals that you like.
Be careful of dehydrating things like canned chili. The process seems to concentrate the salt, and they can become almost inedible.
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Post by trinity on Mar 5, 2016 16:28:22 GMT -8
I've had some Mountain House meals that I thought were pretty good, but I think Packit Gourmet, Mary Jane's Farm, and Hawk's Vittles are a cut above. I like the Packit Gourmet meals the best, but more often than not take Mary Jane's Farm meals because they are the most packable of the bunch, often have a lower sodium content, and have a nice fresh clean flavor. The flat paper packets stack easily in a bear canister, and don't take up nearly as much space as Packit Gourmet meals, which have tons of bulky plastic packaging.
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Post by tipiwalter on Mar 5, 2016 18:04:24 GMT -8
Be careful of dehydrating things like canned chili. The process seems to concentrate the salt, and they can become almost inedible. I hope you're not eating dried chili as a crunchy snack? My dried chili is reconstituted with ample water and tastes just like it does out of the can.
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